Excellence in Joint Replacement Surgery

If you or someone you love is experiencing pain with mobility due to joint-specific issues, our team can help. When you need joint replacement surgery, Skagit Regional Health’s orthopedic team delivers leading-edge care. Whether you need a hip replacement, knee replacement or any other joint replacement surgery, our expert team will precisely match the right treatment to your level of need.

If you need orthopedic surgery, we will help you through every step of the way, from preparing you for your procedure to your full recovery. Our orthopedic surgeons will discuss the diagnosis and available treatment options with you and help you select the best plan to live an active life.

Conditions We Treat

At Skagit Regional Health orthopedic services, our board-certified surgeons provide a broad range of joint surgeries, including:

Total Joint Replacement:

• Hip
• Knee
• Partial knee replacement
• Shoulder

Arthroscopy:

• Ankle
• Elbow
• Hip
• Knee
• Shoulder
• Wrist

Arthritis is a Common Cause of Joint Pain

The most common cause of joint pain and disability is arthritis. This condition results in inflammation in or around the joints that results in swelling, pain and stiffness. It can generally be divided into two categories:

• Osteoarthritis and other wear-and-tear types of arthritis
• Inflammatory types of arthritis

Most of the 100+ types of arthritis fall under each of these two categories. For example, the most common types in the osteoarthritis group are:

• Bursitis/tendonitis, resulting from wear-and-tear changes
• Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS)
• Osteoarthritis (OA)

In the inflammatory group, conditions include:

• Ankylosing spondylitis
• Arthritis with psoriasis (psoriatic arthritis)
• Gout (gouty arthritis
• Infectious arthritis and Lyme disease
• Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR)
• Pseudogout
• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
• Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus)

No matter which type of arthritis, people have pain, along with weakness in strength, flexibility, endurance or exercise ability. Relief is available and there isn’t any reason to suffer in silence.

Hip Joint Replacement Eases Pain, Increases Activities

Just because you have arthritis does not mean you need a hip joint replacement. It could signal that you need more conservative care to reduce inflammation and pain and increase mobility.

However, when pain and immobility interrupt the movements you enjoy, if you are worried your leg could give way or if pain interrupts your sleep, it’s time to talk with your doctor about hip replacement surgery at Skagit Regional Health. By replacing your diseased hip joint with an artificial joint, hip replacement surgery can relieve your pain, increase motion and help you get back to enjoying normal, everyday activities.

Today, more than 193,000 total hip replacements are performed each year in the United States. With evolving research and technology there are now several options for hip replacement surgery. Minimally invasive hip replacement is now possible for many patients, and various types of materials are available for orthopedic surgeons to use for joint replacements.

Comprehensive Orthopedic Care with Hip Replacement

Skagit Regional Health offers comprehensive orthopedic care, including the latest approach in hip replacement surgery called anterior hip replacement. Anterior hip replacement offers several benefits:

• Quick recovery time, so you can return to work and the activities you love faster
• Low complication rate
• Less time spent in the hospital after surgery
• Less potential for limping long-term after surgery

What is the Anterior Approach?

When using the anterior approach to hip replacement, your surgeon comes in from the front of the hip and avoids cutting major muscles. Instead, the surgeon works between the muscles.

This is different than the posterior approach method and the lateral approach method. It brings a faster recovery, reduces the hospital stay after surgery by one to two days and allows you to return to work in about six weeks instead of three months. In addition, the anterior approach dramatically reduces the possibility of hip dislocation after surgery and results in less limping. Long-term results of the anterior and posterior approach are very similar.

Total Knee Replacement Surgery Relieves Pain

If your knee is damaged by injury or simply arthritic with aging, it may be harder for you to stay mobile by walking or climbing stairs. You may even begin to feel pain while you are sitting or lying down. If nonsurgical treatments like medications and using walking supports are no longer helpful, you may want to consider partial or total knee replacement surgery.

Skagit Regional Health offers joint replacement surgery as a safe and effective procedure to relieve pain, correct leg deformity and help you resume normal activities.

Scheduled for Joint Replacement Surgery?

We offer a free, two-hour class to help prepare Skagit Regional Health patients for their upcoming joint replacement surgery. If you have an upcoming joint replacement surgery, please register for this class soon!

We incorporate classroom instruction and procedure-specific therapy instruction. You will learn what to expect before, during and after joint replacement surgery. Experienced nurses and therapists will address your concerns and will be available to answer your questions.

Due to COVID restrictions we currently are not doing in person Total Joint Classes. Please refer to your Total Joint Booklets and the Total Joint Class YouTube Video. For additional questions please call our office at 360-814-6800.

Rehabilitation After Joint Replacement

The Rehabilitation Department at Skagit Regional Health provides inpatient and outpatient services for adult and pediatric patients.

Acute care services are provided at Skagit Valley Hospital and Cascade Valley Hospital and include:

• Pre-operative evaluations for total hip and knee patients, in addition to post-operative rehabilitation
• Post-operative care for day surgeries
• Educational services for staff, patients and their families

Services are available seven days a week for acute therapy services and consultations with physicians, patients and families.

For More Information About Joint Replacement Surgery

To learn more about our joint replacement program, please contact one of the team members at Skagit Regional Health at 360-814-6800. We can help you make an appointment with a joint replacement specialist at one of our convenient locations.